EBRD E-Learning Graduations 2012

The EBRD‟s Trade Finance Programme (TFP) e-Learning 2012 Graduation Ceremony took place during the Exporta 5th Annual Russia and Eurasia Trade and Export Finance Conference.A series of prizes was awarded to the best students in the e-Learning Programme, a flexible online study programme for people from the trade finance and corporate banking departments of issuing banks provided by the TFP. Here is our report of events on the day. It was the afternoon of 7 February 2012 and the Petrovsky Salon in Moscow‟s Marriott Royal Aurora was packed. The last session of Exporta‟s 5th Annual Russia and Eurasia Trade and Export Finance conference was taking place: the second annual graduation ceremony of the EBRD Trade Finance e-Learning Programme

The graduates of 2011 braved frosty Russian weather and travelled to Moscow to receive their ICC Certificates of Achievement. All of them had 12 months to complete seven modules – the most extensive suite of trade finance training available to any trade finance professional worldwide. It was hard to tell who was more nervous – the graduates, the TFP team or Thierry Sénéchal, Senior Policy Manager at the ICC Banking Commission who came to Moscow especially for this event. For many graduates it was a rare opportunity to receive their certificates directly from the main authority in trade finance.

As in the previous year, the TFP‟s partner banks awarded the best students with special prizes. Commerzbank invited Innesa Amirbekyan of Ameriabank to complete a two-week internship at its headquarters in Frankfurt. Michael Gutsa of Credit Bank of Moscow won a bespoke one-week training course in London, sponsored by Euromoney Training.Mariia Ivaschenko of Raiffeisen Bank Aval and Nadica Bosilkova Boskova of Kommercijalna Banka AD Skopje both won iPads, presented by China Systems and eBSI. Suren Kocharyan of Ameriabank received a subscription to DC Pro, courtesy of Coastline Solutions, as did Olga Belovolova of NBD Bank, the only top graduate from a regional Russian bank.

Thierry Senechal and Vincent O’Brien represented ICC Paris at the Graduation in Moscow, Russia